From Burned Out to Fired Up: Changing the Culture in Healthcare with Dr. Mantri

Dr. Sneha Mantri, MD, MS, FAAN, is an Associate Professor of Neurology and Director of Medical Humanities at Duke University, where she leads interprofessional programming in narrative medicine, arts, and well-being across the health system. A graduate of Columbia University’s College of Physicians and Surgeons and Master of Science program in narrative medicine, Dr. Mantri completed her clinical training at the University of Virginia and the University of Pennsylvania before joining the faculty at Duke University, where she initiated the first interprofessional longitudinal track at Duke’s Schools of Medicine and Nursing. The Armstrong Humanities Scholars Program draws students from across all 5 health professional programs (medicine, advanced practice nursing, physical and occupational therapy, and the physician assistant program) to tackle “wicked problems” in healthcare, such as disability rights, climate health, and technocracy. In 2024, Dr. Mantri was selected as a Macy Faculty Scholar, and in 2025 she was elected as a Fellow of the American Academy of Neurology, where she also serves on the Ethics, Law, and Humanities Committee. Her academic interests include access initiatives for people with Parkinson’s disease and the imaginative and moral formation of health professional learners as they prepare to care for a diverse patient population. About the talk: Health humanities offer opportunities for career revitalization, but interprofessional programs can be challenging to create and maintain, particularly in the current educational climate. In this talk, Dr. Mantri will discuss the creation and evolution of a horizontally and vertically integrated humanities track at Duke University, including pivots, pitfalls, and paradigm shifts in the formation of young clinicians. Practical strategies will be emphasized, and attendees will (hopefully) leave feeling fired up to create similar programs at their home institutions.